Making it Worth It
by Anduria Trianys
Summary: A little interlude to my fic 'Will My Arms Be Strong Enough', showing an episode in the friendship between Jack and Nick. Takes place about two days after John and Nick's first date. Implied Jack/Ianto and John/Nick.


Making it Worth It

Jack sank down at the bar and ordered a glass of lemonade and vodka. Normally, he would only drink water or, at a stretch, a Scotch, but this time he realised he needed something full of sugar and with a tang to it too – something with a bit of a kick to it. He felt flat and worn down.

The barman paused in the middle of wiping a glass clean. "It's been a long time," he said.

"Has it?" Jack wasn't really concentrating.

"Yep, it has." A tall glass of sparkling lemonade was pushed towards him. "Last time I saw you, you were with that attractive young man of yours – you know, the one in the suit. But that was…oh, would've been over two months ago now." The man's eyes narrowed slightly. "You've not had a fight or anything, have you?"

Jack didn't answer; instead, he simply sipped his drink and drew a book out of his coat pocket, opening it in the hope that he would be able to have some time to himself. But he could still feel the man's eyes boring into his skull and sighed in frustration and tiredness. This was not a conversation he wanted to be having with anyone, least of all a man who looked as if he could still belong in school.

He was, thankfully, saved from further conversation by a soft voice at his side. "Sometimes, a man likes a night out with friends, or by himself, but it doesn't mean he's broken up with his partner." There was a sound of coins being passed across the bar. "I'll have a Coke, thanks."

Once the barman had moved on, Jack turned and smiled. "Thanks for that, Nick."

"No problem." Nick grinned and swung his long legs over the bar stool. "You didn't look like you wanted to be cross-questioned tonight. I'll leave you in peace."

"No!" exclaimed Jack, but he quickly caught himself at the startled expression that appeared on the younger man's face. "I mean…if you want to…you can stay," he added. "No sense in two friends drinking alone in the same pub, is there?"

"No, I guess there isn't," replied Nick. "I just thought you wanted some time to yourself."

"Will you just go and get us a table and stop rambling on?" Jack chuckled teasingly at him. "I'm getting cramp sat on this stool – and Ianto won't thank me for that, I can tell you."

Once they were sat in a private corner (and once Jack had gotten his wallet out and ordered a basket of chips for them to share), Nick remarked, "I've not been in a pub this crowded since I was at university." He sighed dreamily. "Oh, those were the days."

Jack chuckled and sipped his lemonade. "You didn't get out much, I'm guessing."

"No; when I wasn't at work, I was either asleep or looking after the kids. Being a doctor with two children under four is hell on your social life."

"Bet it wasn't easy on your sex life either."

Nick almost choked on a chip. "Jack!" he exclaimed, feeling his neck heat up and glaring at the chuckling man. "That's…really none of your business."

"Hey, hey, I'm just saying." Jack held up his hands. "Having kids can do that, especially to a young couple. You know, one day, you're alert and ready for any action that your girl – or guy, or even alien – can throw at you. Then, nine months later, you find yourself with a little screaming bundle of joy and boom!" He snapped his fingers. "All that energy gets zapped."

Nick decided to overlook the mention of aliens. "What're you saying?"

"Just that it's not easy having kids and keeping yourself ship-shape," answered Jack. "Not a lot of people can do it." He paused. "Although…there was this one guy…single father with a four-year-old kid…oh, he managed it…the things he could do, even when he was tired…" He sighed dreamily for a few seconds and then smiled. "The kid was cute as well."

"Well, it's not easy to deal with," admitted Nick, idly swirling the ice in his Coke around with a straw. "But…God, when you see them smile at you, their big eyes all bright and happy…when I heard Trev call me 'Dad' for the first time…I realised that it's worth it." He turned his head so that his brown eyes were fixed on Jack's blue ones. "There are a lot of things in life that aren't easy, but…we keep at them – because, in the end, it's worth it."

He sipped his drink with a small smile, which faded slightly when he saw the unsettled look Jack was giving him. "What?" he asked. "Have I got something on my face?"

"No!" Jack answered hastily. "No…I was just thinking – this reminds me of a time when…what we're doing now would be normal." He chuckled. "There was a time when two men talking together wouldn't be considered to be some sort of social taboo."

"I know." Nick grimaced as a crowd of men let out piercing wolf-whistles accompanied by crude leers as a woman with long dark red hair walked past. "These days, all male bonding seems to be about is beer and a fart," he remarked. "Well…and seeing which girl has the best assets," he added as an afterthought. "It's no wonder women complain about us so much, really."

"No, it isn't." Jack paused to finish his drink, visibly cringing as the group behind them laughed and cheered raucously. "Come on, let's get out of here."

~*~

_Forty minutes later…_

"Hold on a minute, this is supposed to be me showing you something!" exclaimed Jack as he staggered up the stairs after the young man. "How on earth do you run so fast?" he panted.

"Well, for one thing, I'm naturally fit," replied Nick, turning round to reveal that he didn't even have a single bead of sweat on his brow. "And for another thing, I'm not wearing a heavy greatcoat."

"But I'm usually in such good shape for roof-climbing, even with the coat!" protested Jack. "Ianto makes sure of that; he's got a great method for burning calories –"

"Jack, I'm a realistic guy, but I really don't need to know what you get up to with my cousin," interrupted Nick as he sat down on the roof. "What a view – you can see the whole city up here."

"Just trying to show you some of the sights you might have missed out on during your flight out with John the other night," joked Jack, sitting down beside him. He let out a deep breath and shrugged his coat off, draping it carelessly over the side of the roof.

"I like roofs," he remarked after a moment. "Gwen and Ianto tease me about it – they say I like to feel higher up than everyone else. But there's more to it than that."

He turned round and looked at Nick. "You know the real reason why I like it up here so much?" Without waiting for an answer, he added, "It's not that it's a good place to brood when something goes wrong, or even that there's nowhere better to watch the sunset with a romantic picnic. It's not really even so I can go star-gazing." He paused. "It's so that I can remind myself what it is we're fighting for."

He slipped an arm around Nick's shoulders and pointed downwards. "You see all those people down there, just going out for dinner or going to the movies, or even just having a drink? Just things that they could probably do any night of the week – things that mean so much to me, because we so rarely get the chance." He smiled. "That's what we're fighting for, Nick. We're fighting so that everyone has a chance at a normal life…the sort of life we can't have."

Nick smiled. "And when you see them walking happily down the street, even though they don't know what we do…it just makes it all worth it."

Jack nodded and pulled the young man a little closer, absently playing with his hair. "No matter how hard what we do is…when you see that sort of happiness, you know it's worth it." He turned round, looking directly at Nick. "And you know that, no matter how hard or how frustrating this job is…you know that you wouldn't change it for the world."


End file.
